Mommy Dearest
by geminisonic
Summary: When Holly's life is in danger, she runs to Monroe and Nick. In the meantime, she and Monroe begin to bond. Rated T for language and sexual references. Chapter 5 is here!
1. Chapter 1

**Part 1: Mommy Dearest**

James Addison walked down the prison hallway with his police escort. The officer dropped him off by the phones.

"One call only Addison." The officer said thickly, then walked away to stand by the wall.

Addison picked up the phone and dialed the number he'd memorized for years. He sighed as he waited, looking around.

"What do you think you're doing?" the voice on the other end answered sharply.

"Listen-"he started.

"No, you listen, you don't call from a prison phone to try and talk to me, you dumbass."

"I thought you said this was a safe number?"

"It is, but I can't risk anyone around catching on."

"Look, just hear me out." Addison replied angrily.

"Fine, you have 30 seconds, make it quick."

"You said this would be a safe deal, that no one would get caught." Addison tried keeping his voice level, "Do you realize that once Holly Clark testifies, I could end up in prison? Do you know what happens to guys in prison with a pedophile rap?"

"Holly can't testify. For God's sake, she can hardly talk. All she does is snarl." The voice replied shortly.

"Did you know about her…condition, before you sent me out there with her?"

"Look, she acted funny, but I never thought she could do that to someone. I mean for God's sake, she was seven years old, how hard can it be to kill a seven year old kid?"

"You should have warned me before you got me into this mess."

"You should have just killed her like I told you to, instead of getting creepy ideas into that sick head of yours. Then maybe she'd be dead by now and you wouldn't be in this mess."

"She ran off, I figured she'd die in those woods anyways or at least get mauled by a bear."

"Well she didn't, and now, you're stuck. Lesson learned bub."

Addison sighed, "You know she'll turn on you next."

"Oh please, no one suspects a thing. Just hang tight and I'll make sure she can't testify. I'll see if I can fix the mess you got us into."

"Hey! It was your idea, not mine."  
"Hence why you should have just done what you were told to do."

The line went dead and Addison stood there seething, holding the receiver. He hung up and went back to his cell.

Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon, Ms. Clark threw her secret cell phone back in the locked drawer and continued to fold clothes. You know, like a good mother should.

…

Monroe woke up to the sound of footsteps in the room. Instinctively, his eyes turned red and he readied himself to "wolf-out" and defend himself. He heard the soft footsteps again and he sniffed the air. He nearly did a double-take. He knew that smell but couldn't quite remember it. He heard soft breathing and he quickly sat up and his face morphed and he stared into the eyes of Holly Clark standing at the foot of his bed.

Her eyes turned red to match his and her face morphed. They stared at each other for a moment, then her face changed and he could see her tear-streaked face. He calmed his face and took a moment to study her.

She was wearing black running pants and an grey oversized t-shirt that had a college logo on it. Her hair had been cut and she had tied it back behind her head.

He could hardly believe that Holly was standing in his bedroom. He hadn't seen her in four months.

"Holly." He whispered

She took a ragged breath and smiled meekly, "Holly." She whispered back.

He got up, ignoring the fact that he was in a blue t-shirt and his boxer shorts, and opened his arms. She ran right into them and buried her head in his shoulder crying.

Monroe felt terrible. He should have made an effort to try and contact her in some way. He did promise her after all that she was not alone. Poor kid probably got desperate waiting.

"Oh, Holly, it's good to see you." He told her as he rested his chin on her head. She definitely smelled better but still had her usual scent that he remembered chasing in the woods long ago.

She stepped back and wiped her eyes and stared at him. Her eyes turned red, telling him without words she was very glad she was with him again. He changed his eyes to comfort her.

She struggled for a minute, as though thinking real hard about something, then she spoke in a ragged and shaky voice, "Where…were…you?"

Monroe wanted to punch himself. He took a breath then sat with her on the bed.

"I am sorry, Holly. I know you don't understand, but I couldn't see you yet. Know that I wanted to, but I just couldn't risk it." He looked at her and she seemed puzzled, so he tried, "Too dangerous." She looked down then back at him as though beginning to understand, then she nodded.

Monroe smiled at her, then realized it was very dark outside; he quickly looked at his glowing alarm clock and saw that it was 3 am in the morning.

"Holly," he asked, "Why are you here? Does your mother know you're here?"

"Mother…" she shook her head. Monroe took that to mean she didn't tell her mom she was here. He didn't know if that was a good thing.

"Holly, you know it's dangerous at night and your mother is going to worry about you."

Again, Holly shook her head and said, "Mother…" then she suddenly started to cry.

Monroe was dumbfounded on what to do in this situation. He had never had kids and never had a sister growing up, so this was new to him. He did what he felt he should do. He carefully put his hand on her back. He knew how hard it must be to live with someone who may not understand what she is. He also knew it must be frustrating not to be able to communicate with words.

"Let's go downstairs, I'll get you something to drink, and then I'll drive you home, okay?"

"Home…no!" she blurted getting up, her face morphing again.

Monroe stood up and morphed to calm her down, "Look," he said as he morphed back, "I know you really wanted to see me, but you can't stay here, it's not safe."

"Not...safe…home…mother…" she sobbed, "Bad…home."

Monroe was baffled, he knew she would have issues being a Blutbad in a strange new home, but he never thought for a minute that she wouldn't be safe there.

"Holly, are you telling me that your mother is…" he tried thinking of a word she may understand, "dangerous."

She looked at him, tears in her eyes and nodded.

Monroe didn't know what to do. He rubbed his hand over his eyes, "okay, Holly, let's go downstairs and talk about this."

He ushered her out of his room, grabbing a pair of his sweatpants along the way. He also grabbed his phone. If anybody was going to help him get out of this mess, it would have to be Nick.

…

Nick groaned as his cell phone rang. He looked at the time, 3:30am.

"No way." He thought, as he picked it up and answered groggily.

"Nick?" Monroe said on the other line.

"Monroe?" Nick yawned, "This is weird, normally I'm calling you at random hours of the night."

"I know man, but listen, Holly Clark is here and she…more or less said her mom is bad news."

"What? Holly Clark?"

"That's what I said, man."

"Okay, so…what, do you need me to come over or something?"

"Yes, Nick, jeez man you are slow when you wake up."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming, hang tight."

"Better hurry, once her mom wakes up and finds Holly gone, we could both be in trouble."

"She's in your house."

"Yeah, but you dragged me out to help you in the woods, so-"

"Okay, okay, I get it, I'm on my way."

* * *

Chapter 2 is coming, so hang tight. I feel like there was more to Holly's mom than meets the eye so I decided to write about it. Feel free to review :)


	2. Chapter 2

Monroe was glad Holly was calming down. She was exploring his house, obviously sniffing things out. He chuckled to himself. He could still remember going into stranger's homes and sniffing out the territory. He had given her some warm milk and she seemed to like it. He also took out some pretzels and he could see her face light up as she tried the salty snack. She munched on a few after she finished "sniffing out" his territory.

Monroe watched her as she sat down and looked at him. In the light, he could see quite a change already in her appearance from four months ago. Her hair was very thick now that it had been cut shorter. Her mom must have done it because teenagers today would rip into her for having hair that plain and thick. She must not have gone clothes shopping either. The pants had been hemmed and the shoes were obviously from some department store and the shirt was very oversized. She looked cleaner though and seemed as though she had put on a little bit of weight.

He heard a knock at the door. Holly snarled.

"Its okay, Holly, its Nick, I'll let him in." He told her as he went to open the door, "Just stay there."

Monroe opened the door and could definitely tell Nick was not much of a 3am person.

"Come in." Monroe ushered the poorly dressed detective. He had obviously come in a hurry which pleased Monroe considerably. Nick wore jeans that were unzipped and a white t-shirt under a crookedly buttoned blue shirt. His hair was unkempt and he had a dazed look in his eyes.

"Look, sorry to call you so early man, but this is kinda an emergency." Monroe explained as they headed toward the kitchen, "Honestly though, man, I thought with you being a detective you'd be better at this sort of calling hour. I mean you're always bugging me."

Nick just yawned.

Holly had stood up and morphed quickly, then sniffed as though she recognized the Grimm, and smiled weakly, nodding at Nick. Nick smiled back, "Hi Holly, how are you?"

Nick helped Holly sit down and found a chair. Monroe made coffee and sat down as Holly struggled to explain.

"Mother…bad…dangerous…Holly, me…scared. You help?"

"Okay," Nick started, "Can you try to tell us why you're scared of your mother?"

Holly shook her head frustrated. So Nick tried a different approach, "Does she hurt you?"

Holly shook her head.

"Does she say mean things to you?"

Again, she shook her head.

Nick thought for a moment, "Has she been ignoring you?"

Still, nothing.

"Look, Nick, I don't think it has anything to do with abuse or neglect." Monroe interjected.

Holly looked from one to the other, "Man hurt me, mother…" She looked around, then pointed to something on the counter. Monroe got up to see what she was pointing to.

"Is it the phone? This?" He asked. She nodded.

"She talked to Addison on the phone, the man who hurt you?" Nick asked.

"Yes." She said sadly.

"You heard her?" Nick asked. Holly nodded, apparently upset.

"Mother hate Holly, kill…say kill." She sobbed.

"Holly, are you telling us that your mom wanted Addison to kill you when he took you from your home?"

"Yes!" Holly cried, looking suddenly relieved that they understood her.

Nick and Monroe exchanged dark looks.

"Holly, wait here, we'll see if we can do anything." Nick told her as he and Monroe stood up and went into the other room. Nick rubbed a hand over his face.

"There's no way we can send her back to that woman." Monroe told him.

"Monroe, we can't just hide her here."

"There's got to be a way to get her out of there, some kind of proof."

Nick thought for a moment, "the phone. Holly said they talked on the phone, if it's true, we can get a call trace from the prison phones."

"But what happens to Holly during that time?"

"Monroe, it may not be safe for you to keep her here, you could get arrested."

"No one else but you knows that I was there when we found her, she could stay hidden here. She'll be safe, and when things are cleared up, and then she can come out again."

"Look-"

"Nick, I can't let her go like this, I told her she wasn't alone, I can't let her down again, not when she could really get hurt this time."

Nick sighed, then nodded, "Okay, she has to stay inside and hidden. No one can know she was even here. I'll do some digging and then we can bring her in to testify at some point."

Monroe nodded, "She's gonna need some clothes and…lady things." He said awkwardly.

"I'll have Juliette help with that. I'll tell her it's for a girl in witness protection or something." Nick supplied, "You sure you want to do this Monroe?"

Monroe thought for a moment, then looked toward the kitchen, no way in hell was he going to let Holly get hurt this time, "Yeah, I'm sure. It's not forever and if it keeps her safe, it's worth it."

"Okay, just lay low and I'll get you what you need."

"Thanks Nick."

"Good luck."

With that he left. Monroe went back to the kitchen and found Holly staring out the window watching the sun begin to rise and the birds chirping. He knew it was going to suck for her being stuck inside for a while, but maybe if she tried some Pilates with him, she would feel better.

Wishful thinking.

….

Monroe quickly made the guest bedroom up for Holly's extended stay. He also put some towels and extra shirts by her bed. As he came out of the room, he noticed his bedroom door was open. He went inside to find Holly crashed on his bed. She was snuggling his pillow and seemed to be very comfortable. Though he was tired, he decided to do some Pilates a little earlier this morning; he could nap on his couch later.

He awoke to Holly walking around the living room. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his clocks. It was noon. He slowly got up and she smiled at him. His eyes glowed red as hers did. He always found it fascinating that other Wesen could communicate in creature form in different dialects and languages. It was way beyond his understanding but he was always intrigued none-the-less.

"You hungry?" He asked her, rubbing his tummy.

She smiled at him again and nodded. He got up and was heading towards the kitchen when she morphed suddenly and went towards the door.

"Holly, stop!" he yelled. She looked back at him frozen and confused.

Monroe sighed, "We can't go outside. Or, really, you can't. You're hiding from your mother and you need to stay hidden. Do you understand?"

Holly looked suddenly very shocked, as though he hit her with ice cold water. She looked almost panicky and he understood why. As a Blutbad, they were both born natural hunters. They were also born with a sense of being free in the wild. When something trapped or caged a Blutbad, they became very claustrophobic and nervous, and in some cases, violent.

"I'm sorry, Holly, but this is only for a while, and you'll be safe here, I promise." Monroe told her, hoping she understood.

Holly looked forlorn, but she seemed to understand, she nodded and looked at him. Then she sat down at the table, looking sadly at the door.

"Food, how?" she asked.

"I have food here, I may need to go to the store to get you some meat, but you won't go hungry, I promise."

"Hunt?" she asked him.

"No, we don't hunt here, we go to a place that sells food," he tried explaining, hoping it would make sense, "We buy with money and then bring it home."

"Money?" she asked.

"Yeah, that green paper stuff, here, I'll show you." He got up and found his wallet, he took out some dollar bills and showed them to her, "This gets you food and other things, like clothes and soap."

She seemed intrigued, "Store…money….food." she said as though piecing it together.

Monroe was impressed, she really caught on quickly. Maybe while she was stuck here he could at least help her with her speech and teach her some things. He hated to do it, but he really needed to go to the store to feed her. So he took her to the living room and sat her down on his couch.

"TV," he said, pointing to the screen, "remote." He gave her the device and showed her how to use it.

"You can watch some TV while I'm gone, don't go anywhere, the people on the screen can help you talk, try talking with them. I'll be right back."

She looked nervous but as she began to play with the TV and talk with the characters on some soap opera, he took his cue and left.

* * *

Glad you guys like the first chapter. I'll keep it coming! Thanks for the R and R's! Keep em comin'


	3. Chapter 3

_No No NO! _Mrs. Clark thought as she raced through the house, frantically looking for Holly. All of her things were here, so she couldn't have gone far. Mrs. Clark angrily got her keys and purse and raced to her car. She'd check the area to see if she was walking around. No way was that little brat going to pull a fast one on her.

…..

Monroe dropped the bags he was carrying from the store. His mouth dropped open at the sight in front of him. Holly was in front of the TV singing and dancing. Only problem, she was just wearing a bra and underpants. She seemed to be mimicking a music video. He had to admit she was a good singer and dancer, but for God's sake the window was open! By the time she started air humping, he jumped in and turned off the TV. She smiled at him, as though pleased with herself.

Monroe took minute to check himself, "Holly….what are you doing?"

"_All the single ladies!" _she sang and shook her hips. Monroe groaned and wanted to shoot himself. He did tell her to copy the people on the TV.

"Please go get clothes on." He muttered, looking at the ceiling. Holly smiled and put on her shirt, "_I'm too sexy for my shirt_!" she laughed. She had no idea.

Nick came over as Monroe was making a nice steak and some vegetables with some pasta for Holly and himself. He had stocked up on some different kinds of meat, mostly beef and steak. He knew Holly was still transitioning and needed protein.

Monroe put the timer on and helped Nick get everything upstairs.

Nick was able to find everything Holly would need for the next few weeks, clothes, hair care products, shampoo, some games, movies, books for learning, and even some puzzles.

"Wow, Nick, thanks!" Monroe exclaimed as he helped unload Holly's new wardrobe into her new closet.

"No problem, I also got you something." Nick chuckled.

"What?" Monroe asked, not quite sure if he wanted to know.

Nick pulled out a parenting book for adolescents. Monroe rolled his eyes. "Asshole." He said.

Nick laughed and tossed the book on the bed.

"I also got her some flash cards. Hopefully you two won't get too bored being cooped up here." He said.

"Thanks man, this will help her a lot, especially when she has to testify. Speaking of, how is that coming?"

"Well, Mrs. Clark reported her missing again, and I'm organizing a search in the woods somewhere. So far it's been coming up clean for Mrs. Clark, although, her parents were killed when she was 17."

"Whoa!" Monroe gasped, "What happened?"

"Not quite sure, never caught the guy, but he apparently attacked her as well. Or so it was reported."

"You think she might have killed her own parents?" Monroe asked.

"Hard to say, I mean she was attacked by the guy, but it's just so unclear and it was years ago so that sort of case is usually thrown out after a while."  
"Anything else?"

"Just her husband commiting suicide about 2 years after Holly disappeared, but again, not much. I'll keep digging."

"Need any help?"

"I'll let you know."

They heard a beeping sound from downstairs suddenly.

"That will be the steak." Monroe said as he and Nick went downstairs. Monroe found Holly staring at the oven a little nervously. She glanced at him confused as he turned off the noise.

"Loud." She said, pointing to the oven.

"Sorry about that Holly, it's just so I don't burn it." He put on gloves and she watched, intrigued as he took out the steak and vegetables to let it cool off. Holly got closer to smell. Nick had to hold her back, "Careful, Holly, it's real hot." He cautioned.

She nodded as she watched Monroe dish up a plate for all three of them.

"Did you want to take some home to Juliette?" Monroe asked Nick. Although Monroe hadn't spoken to Juliette since the Daemonfuhrer incident, she was nice enough to stop by and thank him with a basket of baked goods and some wine. Something Nick needed to learn how to do in Monroe's eyes. So he of course came to like Juliette instantly.

"Yeah, she might like a plate." Nick said and helped Monroe heap some into a Tupperware container. Holly was sniffing the food, a very big grin on her face.

She went to sit down and wait for her food. Monroe had a feeling Mrs. Clark taught her some table manners when she came home. That or Holly remembered sitting at a table eating with a plate.

Monroe wasn't sure if she knew how to cut a steak, so he cut it into pieces for her just in case. He made sure she watched him so she could catch on.

Once he and Nick were seated with her, they dug in. Holly practically inhaled her food. Monroe suddenly felt bad. He wondered if she had really eaten much at home and what the quality of the food was like for her.

"It's weird seeing steak in the house." Nick commented as he forked a piece of the meat and took a bite, "For a vegetarian, you know how to cook a mean steak Monroe."

"Nah, my Nana is the one who can cook a mean steak, among other things." Monroe commented. Holly was already done with her food and she looked very content. Nick paused as if he just noticed this, "Well she didn't waste any time." He laughed.

Holly got up and went towards the living room and Monroe watched her look at the games and puzzles Nick had brought. She looked intrigued.

"Glad I bought those, hopefully she'll be able to talk a little better soon." Nick commented as he finished his food. Monroe nodded eating his vegetarian fare. Holly came back in and held up a jigsaw puzzle Nick had gotten, she smiled as she pointed to it. It was a woodsy scene with lots of critters on it.

"Yeah, I got that for you." Nick smiled at her.

"Softie." Monroe laughed under his breath. Although he did have to give Nick some props. The puzzle reminded Holly of her freedom.

"Thanks, Monroe, I'll give some to Juliette." Nick got up and put his plates in the sink and took the Tupperware container.

"Call me if there are any problems," he said as he walked out. He patted Holly on the head and smiled at her. Holly got excited and came over with the puzzle.

"Not just yet, kid, if you're gonna stay here, you gotta help clean up some." Monroe smiled at her. She nodded. He had a feeling she understood the word clean.

She watched him gather plates and did the same. Then he showed her how to load the dishwasher and put things away and began to show her around the kitchen. She caught on real fast and he was pleased that she was willing to learn how to help out. The skill would come in handy when she turned eighteen and could live on her own.

Once he had finished, he sat down and opened the puzzle box. He would have laughed had the situation not been so sad. She looked genuinely confused and sad. She also looked frustrated. He sighed, trying to think how best to teach her how to use a puzzle.

"Okay," he started, "See each piece has a picture on it, you have to match each piece to make the picture of the woods…here." He connected a couple of easy pieces and did this for a bit. She watched and then leaned in to help him, pointing out connecting pieces. Monroe looked at the clock; it only took her 10 minutes to start connecting the dots. He was extremely impressed. In that amount of time, she managed to do about half the puzzle by herself. Granted it was only a 50 piece puzzle, but he was none-the-less very pleased with her progress.

"Good job, Holly!" He commented. She smiled at him, clearly excited. He wondered if her mother did games like this with her at home.

"Holly," he asked, "Does your mother play these games with you?"

She shook her head sadly.

"Does she let you watch her cook or clean?"

Again, she shook her head.

"What does she do with you?" he asked.

Holly looked up, she seemed to want to find the right words, "She…mother, talk…"she pointed to her mouth, nodding, "books."

"Is that all?" Monroe asked.

Holly nodded, "Mother hate me." She said boldly.

"Nah, Holly, maybe it's not that bad. But just in case it is, I don't hate you. Neither does Nick." Monroe told her, smiling.

Holly smiled then pointed to the puzzle. She had finished it. All under 30 minutes.

"That's great, Holly! You want to try a different kind of puzzle?" He asked her.

She nodded. Monroe took her to the living room and decided to use some flash cards with her before he went to bed. She seemed to enjoy them until he got to a certain word.

"Rope." Monroe said. Holly's eyes went red and she snarled out of fear, backing away. Monroe looked quickly at the picture. It was just a picture of rope. He noticed her rubbing her wrists, still snarling in fear. He quickly put the picture down. As she relaxed, he noticed she became very sad.

"Bad…" she said, tears coming to her eyes.

"Did Addison tie you up?" Monroe asked. She nodded.

He leaned forward, putting his hand on hers, "Holly, I promise he won't hurt you again. Okay?"

She nodded. Monroe smiled, although secretly inside, he was raging and seriously aching to run outside and punch a hole in his fence. He couldn't believe that monster could tie up an innocent seven-year-old girl. It made him sick inside wanting to kill the ass hole who did this to her.

He finally nodded and decided to end the game on a lighter note. He quickly got up and went to his desk and pulled out a small feminine wrist watch. She eyed it curiously as he put it on her.

"I know you can't tell time yet, but I found this when I first started making watches and restored it. I told myself that one day if I had a daughter I'd give it to her. I think you need it more." He smiled.

It was a light shade of burgundy on the leather and the timepiece was gold rimmed with feminine calligraphy for the numbers. It worked perfectly.

"Pretty." She said and graced him with the biggest smile.

He was momentarily relieved from his rage and smiled back.

"Time for bed." He told her getting up, "You've had a long day, kid, and so have I."

….

"What do you mean she's missing?" Addison yelled into the phone he was allowed to use once a day.

"All I know is, she was here one minute and the next morning, she's gone. She didn't take anything. I just don't get it." Mrs. Clark argued angrily over the phone.

"If she comes after me, that's on you, lady." Addison yelled back.

"Oh please, I'm sure she's just getting in touch with her roots out in those God-forsaken woods you dragged her into."

"Do you think she suspects you?" Addison asked, suspiciously. He remembered that the little innocent girl turned out to be quite a handful as soon as he started on her in the woods. It wouldn't surprise him if she was smart enough to figure out her mother had been in on the plan.

"I doubt it, she can hardly talk. Mostly snarls and shit."

"I don't know she had a nasty and conniving streak in her." Addison replied, "Something like that, the devil made, if you ask me."

"Well, her parents were the epitome of demons so it makes sense."

"Why'd you adopt her anyway if all you wanted to do was kill her?" Addison asked.

"That's for me to know and you to shut up about." Mrs. Clark snapped and hung up the phone.

She threw the phone back into the drawer and pulled out the picture that kept her mind on revenge. It was a picture of Holly's father and mother, who was pregnant. She swore she'd make the lot of them pay, so help her.

…..

"Look at this." Hank told Nick. He pulled up the webpage that showed phone usage at the prison Addison was kept at. Nick slid his chair over to get a look.

"Addison was only calling one number." Hank continued.

"Who does the number belong to?" Nick asked.

"Beats me, some kind of unregistered cell phone." Hank said.

"Can you pull a trace maybe? See where it's coming from?"

"I'll try, make take a while, but we might be able to get something, especially if he calls it again."

"Well, then that's our best bet." Nick said, very hopeful.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been three days since Holly came to stay with him. So far, Nick hadn't turned up anything and it was making Monroe and Holly both very antsy. She longed to go outside and run, and he longed for some peace of mind.

One thought had been nagging at him for the past couple of days, however. He began to wonder where Holly would end up if her mother was indeed caught in a conspiracy with Addison. Who would look after her? And would they understand her? It started to make him feel uneasy.

"Eddie? Sad?" She asked him as they both ate breakfast. He looked up at her. She looked a lot healthier, though in obvious need of some sun. Her hair was also getting longer and in need of a trim soon. One thing he did notice was her ability to pick up on other's emotions.

"Nah, I'm fine Holl's" he smiled at her. She smiled back, apparently unconvinced but choosing to let it go.

"Today we learn…body?" she asked him. He nodded. Every day was a new subject matter. He'd already taught her emotions but she seemed curious about anatomy, so he figured it was time for that talk. He dreaded the moment she asked about sex. He figured he could skip around that subject for as long as possible. Wishful thinking.

"Okay…"Monroe sighed, rubbing his face as he turned the page. They already talked about the face, feet, legs, arms, now onto the pages he'd gladly skipped.

"Chest." He said quickly, pointing at the male and female version. Holly looked back and forth. He knew what was coming and braced for it.

"Hers different?" she asked.

Monroe sighed again, praying for guidance, "Yes, she has…breasts." He said awkwardly, "He does not."

"Holly have breasts?" she asked, putting her hands on her chest and looking down curiously.

Without looking at her he quickly said, "Yes. They grow as you grow older and they feed babies milk when you someday have them. Not that you need to worry about that…okay, moving on."

"Milk?" she asked quickly.

"We'll talk about that another day." He was already sweating.

"What's that?" she asked.

Monroe breathed a sigh of relief, "stomach, it's where you keep the food." He rubbed his tummy. She smiled and repeated the words.

He was able to get through all of the anatomy and he finally got to the most awkward page of all.

"All right…this is called a vagina and this is called a penis. You pee through here, and do other stuff…okay we're done." He quickly shut the book.

"What other things?" she asked suspiciously.

Monroe awkwardly sighed. He seemed to be sighing a lot today, "Well…Geahh, I don't want to have a sex talk with you." He muttered.

"Sex?" she asked.

Monroe braced himself and for the next hour and a half explained the birds and the bees to her. Her eyes widened and she seemed curious. He flipped through the books to show her pictures. He got to one page that showed a man on top of a woman, he was touching her intimately. Holly started crying.

"What? What's wrong?" Monroe asked anxiously; leave it to him to make a kid cry trying to have the sex talk with them.

"Sex bad!" she cried, "hurts!"

Monroe suddenly understood. Now he was really angry and let it show in his eyes. She curled herself up and sobbed. Monroe did not know how to deal with this, so he gave it his best shot.

"Holly, what that man did to you was very bad, and should never have happened. But sex is supposed to be a good thing with the right person who won't hurt you. Do you understand?"

She calmed down some. She took a breath and asked, "You won't hurt?"

Monroe was dumbfounded for a second, caught off guard, "No, I won't, but, you're just a kid. When you're much older, you'll find a great fella who will treat you right. But I'm like your…uncle or dad or something, so I can't do that to you and I won't. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"Dad." She said, smiling.

"Sure, like a dad, and dads don't ever hurt their kids or have sex with them. If they do then they're pretty messed up. Yours didn't do that to you? Am I right?"

She nodded.

"Someday you'll find a great boyfriend to take you out on dates and give you flowers and, you know, go dancing with you."

"Boyfriend." She nodded, smiling, "Gossip Girl." She said.

"Gossip Girl? What?" Monroe asked, hoping this wasn't some new teenage Blutbad thing going on.

"TV. Gossip Girl, always talking about sex and boyfriends." She laughed.

"Oh God, I should find you a better show to watch about relationships." He sighed, shaking his head.

…..

Nick called Monroe as soon as he realized that the phone number that was hard to trace was most likely a cell phone. He was on his way over now to show Holly what a cell phone was and if that was what her mother was using. Hopefully Holly was talking a little better now and could tell him more.

Monroe was waiting for him at the door. Nick came in and saw Holly looking at some flash cards. She smiled, "Hi Nick!" she said. Nick stood frozen staring at her, she actually said his name.

"Pretty cool, huh." Monroe commented from behind him, "She's really mastered English already pretty well. She's even working on connecting her sentences."

"That's awesome!" Nick was extremely pleased. This would really help him understand Holly's case, "I actually came by to talk to you Holly." He addressed her.

She put the cards down and eyed him curiously. Both he and Monroe sat down near her in the living room.

"Holly," Nick began, "I need you to tell me what happened that day, when you were seven-years-old. When Addison took you."

Holly's face fell; she looked quickly at Monroe, then at Nick. She took a deep breath, "Playing. Outside I played. Him come up and grab me. I fell asleep. I wake up. I'm tied up with rope." She looked again at Monroe who nodded in encouragement, "Him on me…touching me…" she began to shake, "I scream NO! He hurt me…I bit him, bit rope…I run, him run, I bite him, make him bleed. I hide. It dark outside and him gone, I go back to place…" she stopped and took a breath, "Him bad. Me alone, left me alone." She started crying. Monroe patted her shoulder.

Nick gave her a minute, then decided to keep asking, "Holly, did Addison hurt you in that cabin where we found you, that little tree house?" he asked.

Holly nodded, "woke up there, left there."

"Holly," Nick swallowed, "Did Addison say anything to you?"

Holly paused a moment, then thought back, "Yes." She said quickly, then mimicked him, "This won't hurt, just relax, it will all be over soon. Mother said it's okay."

Monroe was doing his best not to see red. He could tell Nick was feeling the same way. Nick was actually glad she could mimic what people said. That not only meant that she had a good memory, but also, that she couldn't possibly lie.

"Holly," Nick finally asked, "When you got home, what did your mother do?"

"Mother, leave me alone, not talk to me. When we go outside, she hugs me and talks to me. Inside she hates me."

Nick nodded, "When your mom 'talked' to Addison on the phone, did the phone look like this?" He held out his cell phone.

Holly looked at it and shook her head. Nick wasn't sure what to do. Until Monroe had an idea. He went to get his laptop and pulled up pictures of different kinds of phones. She looked over them and a few minutes later pointed to one. It was an older 2008 model. No wonder, his phone was completely different and upgraded.

"Can you tell us what she said exactly?" Nick asked.

Holly nodded, "she say, how hard can it be to kill a seven year old kid? And, you should have just killed her like I told you to. She'd be dead by now and you wouldn't be in this mess."

Both Nick and Monroe stared at her, both in shock. Monroe had a feeling Nick was thinking what he was thinking. How hard it was to not march over to that woman's house and tear her to shreds.

"Holly," Nick calmly told her, "You did the right thing coming to us. We're both going to make sure you're going to be okay and safe. I promise."

Holly smiled weakly through tears. Monroe smiled at her and patted her knee.

"Monroe, I'm gonna need to talk to you in the kitchen privately. Hang tight here, Holly."

Holly nodded and cuddled with a stuffed wolf toy Monroe had found her. He'd got it for her and told her it was for when she was feeling lonely and sad. She even got to give it a name. She decided to call it Chuck after a character on Gossip Girl.

"Do you think you could get her talking better enough for her to testify?" Nick asked Monroe quietly in the kitchen.

"Definitely, look how good she was doing tonight."

"Good. Hank and I have the number, but we're waiting to trace it when Addison calls it next. We'll have proof then. At that point, I can announce that I had her hidden while we did this and kept it under wraps. You don't have to be involved at all. Then she can testify."

"What about Holly? What happens to her once this is over? Where will she go?"

Nick thought about it for a minute, "Well, my guess is child services will put her in a foster home."

"No, Nick, she'll be a time bomb waiting to explode."

"There's not much else I can do. I can try to find another Blutbad family for her, but-"

"Nick, she's sixteen, another family will have already established dominance and reject her. And who knows, she'll be in tons of homes before they find the right one. Her life will be a living hell. She might as well just go back to the woods."

"Look, I know it's not the best, but it's all we can do. Unless you have a better idea-"

"As a matter of fact I do."

"Great, lay it on me."

Monroe took a breath, "I'll adopt her."

Nick paused a minute dumbfounded, "Monroe…are you sure you-"

"Positive."

"That's a big step…"

"I know, but I can't just let her go like this, and if I'm the best shot at a life for her, then I'll take it."

"You really care about her, don't you?"

Monroe sighed, "Let's just say, she's part of my pack. I've already developed a sense of…protection. It's the kind of sense that only a father Blutbad has with his kids."

"In other words, no other parent can have her."

"Exactly."

Nick raked his hand through his hair, thinking, "I'll see what I can do. I can't make promises, but maybe we can make it so she can stay here and you can adopt her."

"Do that, then we can get her mother in prison where she belongs."

Nick nodded, then chuckled, "Man, Monroe, not gonna lie, seeing you as a proud papa, kind of melts my heart a little."

"Shut up."

….

"Damn it, Addison, what now?" Mrs. Clark yelled angrily into the phone. She had lost a lot of sleep trying to locate Holly herself.

"I just wanted to hear any news if you found her. I can't sleep; I keep having nightmares of that…brat ripping my leg to shreds."

"And whose fault is that. Do I sound like I care?"

There was a pause, then a sigh, "No."

"No, and there has been no news so just crawl back to your cell and leave me alone." She hung up and went towards the living room to collapse on the couch.

While she was there, she thought back on how her best laid plans could go so wrong. She had planned it so perfectly, her revenge, but for some odd reason, that little brat messed everything up for her. If her stupid husband hadn't gotten in the way and stuck his nose where it didn't belong….well that was over and done with now. It was time to take matters into her own hands again instead of relying on pathetic sexual predators. Never send a moron to do a woman's job. That was her motto.


	5. Chapter 5

Nicks head hung as he read up the regulations for adoptive parents. He realized that there was no way Monroe could get custody of Holly with his records. The only way he could get Holly for sure was if there was a will from the real parents, or, if Monroe was a relative from her biological family. Nick was not pleased with this news, but he had to break it to Monroe.

His thoughts of how to tell his friend the sad news was interrupted when Hank came running over.

"We got it! The address of the phone Addison has been calling!"

"Where?" Nick momentarily forgot about the adoption process, and grabbed his coat. Hank sat at his desk and pulled up the information on the address.

"I don't believe it." Hank murmured.

"That's the Clark address." Nick stated.

"Why the hell would Addison be calling Mrs. Clark?" Hank asked, stunned.

"Well, when we bring her in, we'll find out soon enough." Nick said angrily as they both got up and raced to their cars.

Once in the car, Nick dialed Monroe's phone.

"Yello!" Monroe said on the other line.

"Monroe, we got her. The phone Holly was talking about, it's in her house. We're gonna bring her in now."

"Really?"

"Yes, get Holly ready and I'll come get her."

"I feel like I should come too, for moral support, she may get real nervous, Nick."

"Monroe we can't risk you coming out in the open right now."

"Okay, okay. Hey, how's the adoption thing coming, any news?"

Nick paused, "I'll tell you later when this is all cleared up."

"Okay. We'll be ready."

….

Forty five minutes later, a very disgruntled Mrs. Clark was sitting in an interrogation room. Holly was pacing in another. She had just given a recorded statement of what happened to her and why she went to Nick. She was good about not mentioning Monroe or where she'd been the past two weeks.

"How could you not include me in this?" Hank asked Nick as they looked at the two.

"I did, you helped me track down that address. Now Holly can come out in the open and tell us what happened for sure."

"I know, but, you didn't tell me you had her hidden."

"Well, I really didn't want anyone else getting too involved if it turned up dry, so I felt it better that we kept it under wraps." Nick explained. He hated lying to his partner and friend, but he had to think about the safety of other's involved.

"True." Hank confirmed, but still seemed a little agitated, "Man, I cannot believe Mrs. Clark planned for Addison to kill Holly. What is this town coming to?"

Nick had to agree. It was a pretty messed up case, "What I want to know is why."

"Guess it's time to find out." Hank said, and both walked in the room where Mrs. Clark was held.

"I already told you, I'm not speaking without a lawyer." She snarled at them.

"Mrs. Clark, we have your fingerprints on the phone you were using to contact Addison." Hank told her bluntly.

"Not to mention," Nick chimed in, "Holly's testimony of you threatening her life over the phone."

"How do you know someone didn't train her to say that?" Mrs. Clark continued to snarl.

"That would be a crazy thing, because Holly repeats what people say." Nick told her.

"Meaning," Hank continued, "that she would be repeating what you said."

Mrs. Clark crossed her arms and glared at them.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way. We can involve Addison, and let me tell you, if his chances of pleading guilty of conspiracy will help his charges, he may just betray you." Hank told her flatly.

Mrs. Clark shook her head angrily, "It's all her damn parents fault." She muttered.

"Come again?" Nick asked.

She looked at them angrily, "Those two people, the scum of the earth is what they were!"

"You knew her parents?" Hank asked. Now they both were intrigued.

"Her father was a murderer and a drug addict. He was the one who…broke in and…brutally murdered my parents." She sniffed, "I was only 17, and instead of killing me, he chose to…have fun with me."

Nick and Hank exchanged dark looks.

"Anyways. I never got pregnant, thank God. That was when I found out I never could conceive children. Imagine getting ready to graduate high school. Both parents murdered, being raped, then finding out your future with children is impossible all in one week." She paused, and then continued.

"But I found them. I found him and his skank of a wife, who was pregnant. I pretended to be a dealer and gave them arsenic mixed with cocaine. Needless to say, that's why they OD'd."

"But why would you want to kill Holly?" Nick asked, "She had nothing to do with that?"

"I never intended to kill Holly. I adopted her with good intentions. But my husband was so obsessed with her. All she did was hog all the attention and I just couldn't get that evil man's face out of my head. Then I realized she was just like her good-for-nothing parents."

"So you hired Addison to do the job for you." Hank finished. She nodded.

"God, if that sick bastard had just killed her…"

Nick couldn't believe his ears, "What about your husband? Did he know about any of this?"

"At one point, yes. I had no choice. He was so broken up about that little bitch."

"What did you do to him?" Hank asked.

"I ended his suffering, note and all. Carbon Monoxide poisoning in the garage. He was passed out so he went peacefully. Just wish the same could be said for that damn little brat."

Nick shook his head in disbelief, "Well, fortunately, Holly is alive and well. And you're going to prison with Addison." Nick told her. Both he and Hank got up just as a lawyer came in.

"Too late, already confessed." Hank told the tall and lanky, rather tired looking attorney. Mrs. Clark rolled her eyes and accepted counsel.

Holly had finally calmed down and was sitting in the chair when a nice portly-looking woman came in and smiled at her.

"Holly?" she asked, sweetly.

Holly nodded.

"I'm going to take you to a nice home, and from there, we'll figure out where you can stay."

"What?" Holly asked nervously, she had thought Monroe would come get her.

Just then, Nick came in, looking sad.

"Give me a minute with her." He asked. The woman smiled and nodded, then left.

"Nick, I want to go home." She said, close to tears.

"Holly, you have to go with the lady. You can't stay with Monroe."

Holly cried angrily and pushed him, her eyes glowing.

"I'm sorry, Holly." Nick said and walked out.

…

Nick reluctantly knocked on Monroe's door. He knew this was not going to be an easy talk.

Monroe looked puzzled when he opened the door.

"Where's Holly?" he asked quickly. Nick came in.

"Monroe, I had to let Child Services take her to a foster home." He explained.

"What?" Monroe yelled, "So, can I adopt her, or what?"

Nick silently shook his head, his eyes averting his friends, which were slowly turning red.

"What do you mean I can't adopt her?" Monroe yelled angrily.

"Look, with your records, there's just no way." Nick tried to placate his friend. He knew the news would break Monroe's heart, but he had to be honest with him.

"There has to be a way!"

"She can only go into your custody if there's a will from the biological parents or if you're a biological family member willing to step in."

Monroe paused for a moment. Nick knew what he was thinking.

"Don't even-"

"It can work, Nick, I can be a distant uncle from her biological parents, we can somehow put it in her records."

"Monroe, that takes a huge professional to pull off something like that and can be dangerous if we get caught."

"I'll take it. I know a guy, real geek. Get me access to Holly's birth history and documents and I can make it so I'm a distant relative."

Nick sighed and shook his head. There was no getting out of this. He looked hard at Monroe.

"Okay, I'll do what I can and give you what you need. I'll contact Child Services and have them bring Holly to the station and you can go through the process there. You should be able to bring her home then."

Monroe nodded. He wasn't about to lose Holly again.

…..

The only reason she wasn't running is because she knew what would happen if she got caught. That and she was exhausted. Holly lay on the pull out sofa-bed in a nice couple's house. She was there temporarily. Tomorrow she would be moved for sure. The couple now already had five kids. Holly was overwhelmed with sadness. She longed to see Monroe and have him hold her and tell her it was going to be all right. She never even got her stuffed wolf to hold. She stared at the watch Monroe had given her and stroked the gold rim. She smiled as she remembered him giving her the present, how much it meant to him to give it to her. She cried silently and closed her eyes. She liked to pretend she was out in the woods where it all made sense. But tonight, she pretended she was home with Monroe and he was asleep down the hall ready to come to her if she had a nightmare.

…

It took all night, but Monroe and Nick managed to get doctored copies of Holly's birth records and family history. Monroe was officially on the list. By the time it was 7am, Nick had called Child Services and told them to bring Holly to the station. Both he and Monroe looked like death, but happy, none-the-less. Monroe would be able to get custody of Holly for sure. If he was a "relative" then there was really no battle to be fought.

Monroe's heart caught when he got a look at Holly. She looked exhausted and her eyes were red from crying. But as soon as she saw him, she lit up. His eyes glowed red, signaling her to act calm. She mimicked him and smiled.

"Good morning Mrs. Glassdale, I'm glad you brought her." Nick said, shaking hands with the portly woman from last night.

"I'm just glad to hear she has family interested in reuniting with her!" Mrs. Glassdale said, smiling at Monroe.

"Yeah, I never really knew about her until now, I just got a call from Nick here and he told me to come in. And, I never turn family away." Monroe lied.

"Wonderful! Well, Holly, this is a cousin on your father's side. His name is Ed Monroe." Mrs. Glassdale explained to Holly. Monroe nearly doubled over laughing. Holly stared at the woman like she was a moron talking to a baby. But Holly smiled at Monroe and came over and hugged him. Mrs. Glassdale was pleased, then ushered them into another room to finalize the adoption process. Nick noted that she mentioned it would take a year to finalize with lots of visits and checking up on Holly's well-being, but Nick was glad to see Monroe and Holly together and happy. Before the door closed, Monroe silently thanked Nick from across the room and Holly smiled at him as well.

Nick sat down and rubbed his exhausted face. He figured he could snooze a bit at his desk, after all, his job was done….for now.

End of Part One

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews on part one, it helped me make the decision to continue the saga. Glad you enjoyed it! Now get ready to hate me cause I'm leaving you hanging with:

Part 2 preview

Always Talking About Boyfriends and Sex

Holly loved jogging in the parks. It just cleared her head and made her feel free again. Not to mention it was nice to actually have decent running shoes that fit her as well as a purple running outfit that Monroe had gotten her as a gift. She smiled thinking about her dad.

The first time she called him Dad he dropped a plate on the floor, but smiled and accepted that that was what he was officially. As far as dad's go, he's pretty awesome.

Just then she heard something. It sounded like her dad's cello, only a higher pitch. It was…beautiful. She ran towards the sound. As she got closer she tried to remember her dad teaching her about music. She thought for a minute as she walked towards the sound and realized it was a violin.

When she came to the middle of the park, a few people were listening to the source of the music. A tall man was in her way so she got a little closer. She noticed a boy about her age totally enraptured as he played a violin concerto for his audience. They were putting money in a bowl on the ground in front of him, and they started walking away. She got a pretty good look at him as she was now the only one listening. The kid was really pale with dark hair under a black cap. And for goodness sake, all he wore was black, right down to his socks. She had to wonder if that was his favorite color or something. Not exactly the kind of guy you see every day playing a violin.

She smiled as she listened. It made her think of when her dad played during a thunderstorm to calm her down.

Suddenly, a familiar and scary scent set her on edge. She turned around and right behind her was a vision from her nightmares.

"Hello, sweetie, did you miss me?" her mother sneered pointing a gun at her.


End file.
